Best Way to Learn Audio FX

[Harry Simpson]

I've edited over a 100 short videos in Vegas and the Audio FX contols are somewhat intuitive but i'm kind of shooting in the dark and wondered how everyone actually learned the aduio adjustments

[Don Bloom]

I read, I played, I learned!

No really--Spot (Douglas Spotted Eagle) among others has some excellant stuff on Vegas aduio. I found one of the best things to do was just to sit down with a clip and play play play play and then play some more. Now while I'm not an expert I at least know where to look and have some idea of what to expect. I guess I have just enough knowledge to be considered dangerous :-).
Luckily nothing you do is permanent it's alll non destructive so take a clip and try different things see what they do if you find something you like or that could be helpful in multiple situations save it as a preset. It's OTJ training.

[Harry Simpson]

I think that's where i am too but would love to see a tutorial made by an audio engineer/musician on the correct way to enhance audio with the included tools. I'm just farting around now probably steeping on myself from adjustment to adjustment.

A lot of my work is for musicians and they hear whereas i'm more visual.

[Brian Luce]

I've asked this question before too, it seems the best is DSE's Vegas 8 video? Allegedly has a lot of audio stuff. I've worked with a lot of Soundies, often they just go by their ears, and less on scopes and meters and buzzers. So it's a safe bet that one thing you need is decent flat response speakers -- one of many things I don't quite have. I use Edirol MA-7A.

[Harry Simpson]

Yup I have some crappy powered computer speakers so not top of the line. Just downloaded the NewBlue Audio Scrubbers fx. Gonna see what magic they provide. Demo on website looks promising.

[Don Bloom]

Newblue's stuff is great stuff-although most everything it does can be done in Vegas BUT Newblue makes it 1 touch with lots of ways to make changes without going nuts. One beauty of Vegas in both Video and Audio is there is always more than 1 way to skin a cat. (no offense to cat lovers)

[Ian Stark]

The audio tools that Sony provides are pretty standard in terms of functionality, features and operation. You could probably read/watch any general tutorial on, say, compression or EQing etc and get a good feel for how to achieve certain results.

There's a very good book called Producing Great Sound for Digital Video. My copy is from 2003 but I expect there is an updated version.

Your biggest killer is going to be those speakers. If reference monitors are not achievable right now (and boy are they expensive!), at least you should be looking at a decent pair of closed back headphones. Even the best headphones aren't ideal for mixing and mastering but they will be a step change up from the cheapo speakers. You'll hear all sorts of stuff you would otherwise miss. Remember the old adage that an audience will forgive poor video but they won't forgive poor sound.

If you want to explore the world of audio effects, check out KVR: Virtual Instruments, Virtual Effects, VST Plugins, Audio Units (AU), DirectX (DX), Universal Binary Compatibility - Audio Plugin News, Reviews and Community. This is THE place to go for plugins, paid and free. It's a treasure trove.